The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway
by DragonRider122
Summary: In three hundred years, only one person was ever able to see Jack Frost. -Set about six months after the end of "Frozen"-


**Disclaimer: If I owned Frozen or Rise of the Guardians, Jelsa would be canon.**

**Just to clarify, Frozen is supposed to take place around the 1840s, so Jack would definitely be around at this time.**

* * *

Even though she couldn't control it, Elsa still loved the snow that fell from the sky.

It had actually surprised her quite a bit when she figured out that her powers only extended to creating her own ice; she could, of course, control the snow once it was on the ground to some extent, but it was much harder. Still, it was nice to just be able to enjoy and not worry about her powers spiraling out of control.

Of course, for the past few months, Elsa had been working on keeping them in check. After the whole fiasco that had now earned her the title "Snow Queen", Elsa was determined never to lose control again. Granted, it was easier said than done; even though she knew what to do now, that the key to taking charge of her power was _not_ locking her emotions away and shutting everyone out, sometimes the old fear came creeping back and she had to fight to keep it at bay. Old habits died hard, she thought with a small sigh.

Still, it was a gorgeous night and Elsa wasn't about to waste it. Of course, "gorgeous" had somewhat of a different definition for her than others, she thought with a smirk as she strode out of the castle and into the frigid night. The cold air whipped pleasantly past her face, and with a flourish of her hands, her nightclothes were replaced with the ice-gown she'd worn during her self-imposed exile from Arendale. When Elsa had returned and reassumed her mantle as queen, she'd adopted clothes more fitting of royals, although Anna had asked her disappointedly why she chose "boring, stuffy dresses" over one that looked "so much cooler". Elsa had given her sister some vague answer about function, but in reality she just hadn't wanted to remind anyone of what had happened—any more than she already did, anyways…

"Okay, stop that," she told herself sternly, pausing to take her shoes off and place them at the base of the steps. "You came out here to relax, remember? Let it go…." She dug her toes into the snow, relishing the feeling of the frigid crystals on her bare skin.

The fleeting sensation of movement pricked at the edge of her awareness, and Elsa spun around, magic crackling around her fingers. Nothing moved, but there was still a sense of being watched, and Elsa didn't relax her posture. "Who's there?" she demanded, eyes narrowed slightly. "Come out now."

The night remained silent and still, and slowly the queen allowed the magic to fade, straightening up and casting one last look around the deserted streets before setting off again.

* * *

Elsa reached the foothills of the North Mountain before pausing and looking around to make sure that nobody had followed her, although she really didn't need to bother; word of her abilities had quickly spread through the kingdom, and any would-be assassins didn't have enough nerve to take her on after that.

The spot she'd chosen was one that Anna had told her about when she asked how the younger woman found Olaf. Crystalline orbs of ice formed on the long, thin tree branches and weighed them down, and the ice on the pond glittered silver in the moonlight. Elsa exhaled and smiled, feeling her stress melt away as she raised her hands and created a small mound of ice that was just the right size for her to recline against and stare at the stars above. The queen flopped down, closing her eyes and reveling in the chill of the snow against her skin and the complete, utter silence of the night.

"Whoa."

The voice sent Elsa rolling to her feet, fingertips sparking with blue light. She cast her gaze about, but there was nobody there, no being to which the voice could have belonged. As the queen began to wonder if she'd imagined it, she heard a faint noise overhead, like something was perching in the trees above. Craning her neck, Elsa stumbled back in shock as she saw a teenage boy sitting on the uppermost branches of a large pine tree and looking appreciatively at the scene below—Elsa included. He had white hair, which she'd never seen on anyone but herself, and in one hand he held a large staff with the end curved like a shepherd's. "First I find that Arendelle really _does_ have the perfect winters, and then I see that…..I wonder if she was the one who built that ice palace up on the mountain," he mused, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Finally someone who shares my appreciation for the cold!"

"Who are you?" Elsa demanded, allowing the magic to ripple up her arms as she narrowed her eyes at the stranger. "And why are you watching me?"

He continued as if she hadn't spoken. "It's too bad she can't see me…..just like everyone else." The boy's face fell in an expression of such utter loneliness and isolation that Elsa stilled the motion of her hands. She'd been preparing to throw a snowball—she didn't dare strike him with a bolt of pure magic—but the look on his face made her stop. It reminded her far too much of the seclusion she'd been forced to seek as a child, wishing more than anything to open that damned door and play with her little sister; to be _normal_ and belong.

Throat suddenly tight, Elsa swallowed hard a few times before raising her voice. "I can see you, whoever you are."

His eyes widened in pure astonishment as he looked down at her. "Wait. Are….are you talking to me?"

"Who else would I be talking to?" Elsa responded, and then watched in amazement as his entire face lit up. The utter joy and disbelief in his ice-blue eyes made her smile slightly. "Although I would like to know what you're doing here…and who you are."

Apparently the boy hadn't heard anything after her first sentence, because he stood up and, to Elsa's astonishment, leapt from the treetop to the ground, excitedly jabbering all the while. "This…..this is amazing! You can actually see me; I can't believe….but how? Hardly anyone knows who I am, and anyways it's usually only kids who can…" He pushed a hand through his hair before turning and glaring up at the moon. "It's about time you sent me some company! Almost a century and a half with nobody to talk to except that stupid oversized rabbit, and I still have no idea who I am or where I came from! Oh well," he sighed, looking back at Elsa and grinning that infectious grin. "Better late than never, I guess."

"…who were you talking to?" she asked slowly, taking a step back.

"Oh—the Man in the Moon. He created me, I guess, although he won't tell me why," the boy explained, casting another irritated look at the sky.

"Created you," Elsa repeated, starting to wonder if this kid wasn't a little out of his mind. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jack," he answered, eagerly holding out a hand. "Jack Frost."

"Wait—Jack Frost? As in the winter spirit?" she repeated somewhat dubiously, and then instantly felt guilty as Jack deflated, an expression of overwhelming sadness crossing his face.

"I guess you don't believe in me either, huh? But in that case, you shouldn't be able to see me…."

"No! I do believe in spirits—in you; I mean, if magic is real, why shouldn't they be? It's just….I didn't expect you to be a kid. If you're really who you say you are."

"Hey!" Jack protested indignantly, blue eyes flashing. "I'm no kid, and I am the real deal, thank you." So saying, he aimed his staff across the pond, and a bolt of blue light shot out and hit the trunk of a tree. Elsa caught her breath in surprise: A delicate pattern of ice began to form on the bark, intricate as any etching the palace artisans could do.

"I guess you are," she said after a moment, and Jack grinned.

"Believe it, lady."

Elsa extended her hand, and as Jack took it, she was surprised that his hand felt normal temperature—usually whenever she touched someone else's skin, it was extremely warm. Jack's eyes widened as blue light exploded from their joined hands, and frost crept out to cover a three-foot radius of where they stood. "What the—?!"

She grinned slyly. "Well, I _was_ the one who built the palace, and I guess you saw me build that." Elsa gestured to the small ice hillock. "My powers make me cold; my sister jests that she won't hug me unless there's a fireplace nearby." It had become a running joke between them in the past few months.

He laughed. "Yeah, humans don't like the cold much. So—were you born with that power, or…?"

"Yes. But….I haven't been able to control it until recently." Elsa sighed. "If you're new here you probably haven't heard."

"There are stories about this place having winter in July, but...I just thought it got cold here early or something." Jack's eyebrows rose. "You're powerful enough to freeze summer?"

She looked down. "I didn't mean to."

"No, that…..I mean, it stinks that you did, but….wow. That's incredible…and you built that ice palace too? I can't do that; at least I don't think I can…." Jack trailed off thoughtfully. "Hmm."

Elsa eyed his staff. "Do you need that to use your powers or is it just for show?"

"What, this thing? No, I'm pretty much helpless without it. Unfortunate, but there you have it," he shrugged. "The Moon gave it to me as a symbol of my power."

"You've mentioned the moon twice now. Is there some kind of story there?" Elsa didn't know why, but the more time she spent with this boy, the more comfortable it felt—as if they'd always been meant to meet each other. She relaxed, noticing for the first time that he was handsome for a boy of no more than sixteen or seventeen, and Elsa cursed inwardly as she felt her cheeks heat slightly. Luckily, Jack didn't seem to notice, tilting his head thoughtfully.

"Well, it's a bit of a weird story…"

* * *

Three hours later and Elsa finally knew what it felt like to have a friend.

They'd spent the entire night racing up and down the mountains, exploring their powers and seeing who was better with ice and snow. Elsa was more architecturally gifted than Jack, but he had more experience with the subtle intricacies of directing the element. A rousing snowball fight had ended with both parties covered in white and laughingly agreeing to a truce, and now they were having a sledding competition, although Elsa, who'd never done it before, was having a bit of trouble steering. From his ice sled a few hundred yards away, he called, "Lean! Shift your weight—no, not that much, you'll fall off!"

"This is hard!" Elsa yelped as she was nearly decapitated by a lowhanging tree branch.

"Just takes some practice!" Jack said encouragingly. "Only took me around a century."

"A century?" she repeated, turning to look at him. "How old _are_ you?"

"I don't know, actually. I mean, I was….born, I guess, about a hundred and fifty years ago, but—Elsa, look out!"

The queen returned her eyes to the path in front of her and gasped in horror as a giant ravine came into view. The best sledder in the world couldn't have gotten across it. Desperately she threw her weight to the side, but all she succeeded in doing was turning the sled sideways. She heard Jack yell her name, but he was much too far away to help. Panicking, Elsa blasted a pathway of ice to span the gaping rift and shot across it like an arrow from a bow. Plowing into a snowbank, she tumbled off of her makeshift sled and sat there panting and, for some reason, grinning like an idiot.

"Huh. That's pretty impressive," came a voice from above her. "I was going to swoop in and save the day, but I guess I didn't need to." Elsa looked up and was completely surprised to see Jack hovering ten feet above the ground with an amused expression on his face.

"You can fly?!"

"What, you can't?"

"Of course not! People don't fly—well, most of them," she amended, and watched as Jack smirked at her.

"Finally, something I can do better than you."

"Oh, shut up, Frozen Boy," grumbled Elsa.

"Frozen Boy, huh? In that case, you're my Ice Queen," he replied, descending until his feet touched the ground.

Elsa would have said something, but the kiss kind of stole her ability to talk.


End file.
